Sacrifice request reviewed
Scripture reading: Genesis 22:1-14. Text: “Then God said (to Abraham), ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. SACRIFICE HIM THERE as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.'” Genesis 22:2. And: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He WHO DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32. We just cannot understand how God could expect Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac whom he and his wife, Sarah, had received in old age, Genesis 18:9-11. Just the story itself, please see our Scripture reading, does not make any sense to us. Rather we ask, how could a loving God be so cruel and require so much?
Before we try to answer the questions that arise from this story, let us consider at least four viewpoints.
The HISTORICAL viewpoint.
The history of the chosen race, that is Israel, had started with Abraham (Abram), please read Genesis chapter 12. Jesus’ genealogy, according to Matthew in Matthew 1:1-2, begins with Abraham. The Jewish people often responded to Jesus with this statement: “Abraham is our father.” John 8:39. Christ also had considered Abraham the father of the Jews: “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” Luke 13:28. Please see also Luke 3:8 and 19:9 as well as John 8:52-58. Abraham was a historical person, who lived around 2080-2070 B.C., although this date is not certain.
The BIBLICAL SCHOLARS’ viewpoint.
The scholars will tell us that human sacrifice was practiced in the time of the Old Testament.
See how Jephthah had sacrificed his own daughter, Judges 11:29-40. In 2 Kings 3:27 we read: “Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall.” See also 1 Kings 16:34 referring to Joshua 6:26, as well as Jeremiah 7:31. God denounced this practice, please read Leviticus 20:2, Deuteronomy 12:30-31, Psalm 106:37-38 and Ezekiel 16:20-21.
God’s LONG-RANGE plan. The request that Abraham should sacrifice his son, Isaac, had been an individual and unique event that points far ahead. The author of the letter to the Hebrews spelled it out: “By faith Abraham, WHEN GOD TESTED HIM, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'” Hebrews 11:17-18. Even before Isaac was born, God had made a commitment to Abraham: “. . . and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3/c, and: “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.” Genesis 13:16. See also Genesis 15:1-6. God had to choose such a person as a father of the chosen race whose loyalty, obedience and dependability were above any doubt.
The request to sacrifice Isaac was not meant to be a torture for Abraham but a test that will guarantee the future: “THROUGH YOUR OFFSPRING all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Genesis 22:18.
The SPIRITUAL viewpoint.
Let us place two historical events, separated by thousands of years, next to each other so that the contrast will accentuate the issue: “Then God said (to Abraham), ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. SACRIFICE HIM THERE. . .'” and: “He (God) WHO DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, but gave him up for us all.” For both quotations, see our text. Apostle Paul puts it in this way: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. Apostle Peter has the same theological conviction: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” 1 Peter 1:18-19. Was God willing to make that sacrifice with which He had tested Abraham? Read also John 1:29, 3:16.
The lyrics of this hymn reflects our response:
“Just as I am without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
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The Rev. Alexander Jalso is a retired United Presbyterian minister living in Brownsville.